Power management for PCIE switches and devices in a multi-root input-output virtualization blade chassis

ABSTRACT

A method for managing the power of a chassis includes receiving a plurality of modular information handling systems into the chassis, receiving a plurality of information handling resources into the chassis, virtualizing access of one of the modular information handling resources to two or more of the plurality of modular information handling systems, the modular information handling systems sharing the modular information handling resource, and, upon initialization of one of the information handling systems, determining power requirements of the shared information handling resource, receiving power requirements from the information handling systems, determining whether the power requirements from the information handling system includes power requirements of the shared information handling resource, subtracting the power requirements of the shared information handling resource from the power requirements of the information handling system to determine resultant power requirements, comparing the resultant power requirements with available power, and allowing operation of the information handling system.

The present patent application is a continuation of a previously filedpatent application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/589,334, filedAug. 20, 2012, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates in general to information handlingsystems, and more particularly to power management for PCIe switches anddevices in a multi-root input-output virtualization blade chassis.

BACKGROUND

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option available to users is information handling systems. Aninformation handling system generally processes, compiles, stores,and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or otherpurposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of theinformation. Because technology and information handling needs andrequirements vary between different users or applications, informationhandling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled,how the information is handled, how much information is processed,stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the informationmay be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in informationhandling systems allow for information handling systems to be general orconfigured for a specific user or specific use such as financialtransaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage,or global communications. In addition, information handling systems mayinclude a variety of hardware and software components that may beconfigured to process, store, and communicate information and mayinclude one or more computer systems, data storage systems, andnetworking systems.

Existing server architectures either provide a single monolithic servercapable of running one operating system and input/output (“I/O”)resources at a time, or bulky blade server chassis providing multipleservers and I/O control modules in a single chassis. A system chassiswith multiple information handling systems with various peripheral andinput/output capabilities common to the chassis as a whole may provideadvantages, as it allows a blade server chassis in a small form factor,thereby providing a blade server chassis with a size comparable to thesize of a monolithic server. Implementation of a system chassis withmultiple information handling systems with various peripheral andinput/output capabilities common to the chassis as a whole presentsnumerous challenges.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, thedisadvantages and problems associated with removal of informationhandling resources in a shared input/output infrastructure have beenreduced or eliminated.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, a systemincludes a chassis configured to receive a plurality of modularinformation handling systems and a plurality of information handlingresources, one or more switches configured to virtualize access of oneof the modular information handling resources to two or more of theplurality of modular information handling systems, and one or morechassis management controllers housed in the chassis. Each informationhandling resource is received through a slot in the chassis. The modularinformation handling systems shares the modular information handlingresource. The one or more chassis management controllers are configured,upon initialization of one of the information handling systems, todetermine power requirements of the shared information handlingresource, to receive power requirements from the information handlingsystems, to determine whether the power requirements from theinformation handling system includes power requirements of the sharedinformation handling resource, subtract the power requirements of theshared information handling resource from the power requirements of theinformation handling system to determine resultant power requirements,compare the resultant power requirements with available power, and,based on the comparison, allow operation of the information handlingsystem.

In accordance with other embodiments of the present disclosure, a methodfor managing the power of a chassis includes receiving a plurality ofmodular information handling systems into the chassis, receiving aplurality of information handling resources into the chassis,virtualizing access of one of the modular information handling resourcesto two or more of the plurality of modular information handling systems,the modular information handling systems sharing the modular informationhandling resource, and, upon initialization of one of the informationhandling systems, determining power requirements of the sharedinformation handling resource, receiving power requirements from theinformation handling systems, determining whether the power requirementsfrom the information handling system includes power requirements of theshared information handling resource, subtracting the power requirementsof the shared information handling resource from the power requirementsof the information handling system to determine resultant powerrequirements, comparing the resultant power requirements with availablepower, and, based on the comparison, allowing operation of theinformation handling system.

In accordance with yet other embodiments of the present disclosure, anarticle of manufacture includes a computer readable medium andcomputer-executable instructions carried on the computer readablemedium. The instructions are readable by a processor. The instructions,when read and executed, cause the processor to determine a plurality ofmodular information handling systems received into a chassis, determinea plurality of information handling resources received into the chassis,virtualize access of one of the modular information handling resourcesto two or more of the plurality of modular information handling systems,and, upon initialization of one of the information handling systems,determine power requirements of the shared information handlingresource, receive power requirements from the information handlingsystems, determine whether the power requirements from the informationhandling system includes power requirements of the shared informationhandling resource, and, subtract the power requirements of the sharedinformation handling resource from the power requirements of theinformation handling system to determine resultant power requirements,compare the resultant power requirements with available power, and,based on the comparison, allow operation of the information handlingsystem.

Technical advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art in view of the following specification,claims, and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present embodiments and advantagesthereof may be acquired by referring to the following description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumbers indicate like features, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example system chassis withmultiple information handling systems and with various peripheral andinput/output capabilities common to the chassis as a whole, inaccordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a more detailed block diagram of example systemconfigured to provide power management in a modular chassis for PCIeswitches and devices in a multi-root input-output virtualization (“IOV”)environment for multiple information handling systems in accordance withcertain embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart of an example method for powermanagement for PCIe switches and devices in a multi-root input-outputvirtualization blade chassis;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of an example method for initializationof power management for PCIe switches and devices in a multi-rootinput-output virtualization blade chassis;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of an example method for checking forand conducting power-down operations as part of power management forPCIe switches and devices in a multi-root input-output virtualizationblade chassis; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of an example method for determiningwhether sufficient power exists for a request from an informationhandling system to operate as part of power management for PCIe switchesand devices in a multi-root input-output virtualization blade chassis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Preferred embodiments and their advantages are best understood byreference to FIGS. 1-6, wherein like numbers are used to indicate likeand corresponding parts.

For the purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system(“IHS”) may include any instrumentality or aggregate ofinstrumentalities operable to compute, classify, process, transmit,receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, manifest, detect,record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information,intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, entertainment,or other purposes. For example, an information handling system may be apersonal computer, a PDA, a consumer electronic device, a networkstorage device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size,shape, performance, functionality, and price. The information handlingsystem may include memory, one or more processing resources such as acentral processing unit (“CPU”) or hardware or software control logic.Additional components or the information handling system may include oneor more storage devices, one or more communications ports forcommunicating with external devices as well as various input and output(“I/O”) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display. Theinformation handling system may also include one or more buses operableto transmit communication between the various hardware components.

For the purposes of this disclosure, information handling resources maybroadly refer to any component system, device or apparatus of aninformation handling system, including without limitation processors,busses, memories, input-output devices and/or interfaces, storageresources, network interfaces, motherboards, electro-mechanical devices(e.g., fans), displays, and power supplies.

For the purposes of this disclosure, computer-readable media may includeany instrumentality or aggregation of instrumentalities that may retaindata and/or instructions for a period of time. Computer-readable mediamay include, without limitation, storage media such as a direct accessstorage device (e.g., a hard disk drive or floppy disk), a sequentialaccess storage device (e.g., a tape disk drive), compact disk, CD-ROM,DVD, random access memory (“RAM”), read-only memory (“ROM”),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (“EEPROM”), and/orflash memory; as well as communications media such wires, opticalfibers, microwaves, radio waves, and other electromagnetic and/oroptical carriers; and/or any combination of the foregoing.

Information handling systems often use an array of physical storageresources (e.g., disk drives), such as a Redundant Array of IndependentDisks (“RAID”), for example, for storing information. Arrays of physicalstorage resources typically utilize multiple disks to perform input andoutput operations and can be structured to provide redundancy which mayincrease fault tolerance. Other advantages of arrays of physical storageresources may be increased data integrity, throughput and/or capacity.In operation, one or more physical storage resources disposed in anarray of physical storage resources may appear to an operating system asa single logical storage unit or “logical unit.” Implementations ofphysical storage resource arrays can range from a few physical storageresources disposed in a chassis, to hundreds of physical storageresources disposed in one or more separate storage enclosures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example system 100 having achassis 101 with multiple information handling systems 102 and withvarious peripheral and input/output capabilities common to chassis 101as a whole, in accordance with certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As depicted in FIG. 1, system 100 may comprise a chassis 101including a plurality of information handling systems 102, a mid-plane106, one or more switches 110, one or more chassis managementcontrollers 112, a network interface 116, one or more slots 120, one ormore cables 124, one or more storage interfaces 126, a disk drivebackplane 128, a plurality of disk drives 130, an optical media drive132, a keyboard-video-mouse (“KVM”) interface 134, and a user interface136.

A given information handling system 102 may generally be operable toreceive data from and/or communicate data to one or more disk drives 130and/or other information handling resources of chassis 101 via mid-plane106. In certain embodiments, a given information handling system 102 maybe a server. In such embodiments, an information handling system maycomprise a blade server having modular physical design. In these andother embodiments, a given information handling system 102 may comprisean M class server. As depicted in FIG. 1, a given information handlingsystem 102 may include a processor 103 and one or more switch interfaces104 communicatively coupled to processor 103.

A processor 103 may include any system, device, or apparatus configuredto interpret and/or execute program instructions and/or process data,and may include, without limitation a microprocessor, microcontroller,digital signal processor (“DSP”), application specific integratedcircuit (“ASIC”), or any other digital or analog circuitry configured tointerpret and/or execute program instructions and/or process data. Insome embodiments, processor 103 may interpret and/or execute programinstructions and/or process data stored in a memory, a hard drive 130,and/or another component of system 100.

A switch interface 104 may comprise any system, device, or apparatusconfigured to provide an interface between its associated informationhandling system 102 and switches 110. In some embodiments, switches 110may comprise Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (“PCIe”)switches, in which case a switch interface 104 may comprise a switchcard configured to create a PCIe-compliant interface between itsassociated information handling system 102 and switches 110. In otherembodiments, a switch interface 104 may comprise an interposer. Use ofswitch interfaces 104 in information handling systems 102 may allow forminimal changes to be made to traditional servers (e.g., M classservers) while supporting the overall system architecture disclosedherein. Although FIG. 1 depicts an implementation including a singleswitch interface 104 per information handling system 102, in someembodiments each information handling system 102 may include a pluralityof switch interfaces for redundancy, high availability, and/or otherreasons.

Mid-plane 106 may comprise any system, device, or apparatus configuredto interconnect modular information handling systems 102 withinformation handling resources. Accordingly, mid-plane 106 may includeslots and/or connectors configured to receive information handlingsystems 102, switches 110, chassis management controllers 112, storagecontrollers 114, network interface 116, optical media drive 132, KVMinterface 134, user interface 136, and/or other information handlingresources. In one embodiment, mid-plane 106 may include a single boardconfigured to interconnect modular information handling systems 102 withinformation handling resources. In another embodiment, mid-plane 106 mayinclude multiple boards configured to interconnect modular informationhandling systems 102 with information handling resources. In yet anotherembodiment, mid-plane 106 may include cabling configured to interconnectmodular information handling systems 102 with information handlingresources.

A switch 110 may comprise any system, device, or apparatus configured tocouple information handling systems 102 to storage controllers 114(e.g., via mid-plane 106) and slots 120 and perform switching betweeninformation handling systems 102 and various information handlingresources of system 100, including storage controllers 114 and slots120. In certain embodiments, a switch 110 may comprise a PCIe switch. Inother embodiments, a switch may comprise a generalized PC bus switch, anInfiniband switch, or other suitable switch. As shown in FIG. 1, chassis101 may include a plurality of switches 110. In such embodiments,switches 110 may operate in a redundant mode for shared devices (e.g.,storage controllers 114 and/or devices coupled to slots 120) and innon-redundant mode for non-shared/zoned devices. As used herein, shareddevices may refer to those which may be visible to more than oneinformation handling system 102, while non-shared devices may refer tothose which are visible to only a single information handling system102. In some embodiments, mid-plane 106 may include a single switch 110.

A chassis management controller 112 may be any system, device, orapparatus configured to facilitate management and/or control of system100, its information handling systems 102, and/or one or more of itscomponent its component information handling resources. A chassismanagement controller 112 may be configured to issue commands and/orother signals to manage and/or control information handling system 102and/or information handling resources of system 100. A chassismanagement controller 112 may comprise a microprocessor,microcontroller, DSP, ASIC, field programmable gate array (“FPGA”),EEPROM, or any combination thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, a chassismanagement controller 112 may be coupled to mid-plane 106. Also as shownin FIG. 1, system 100 may include a plurality of chassis managementcontrollers 112, and in such embodiments, chassis management controllers112 may be configured as redundant. In some embodiments, a chassismanagement controller 112 may provide a user interface and high levelcontrols for management of switches 110, including configuringassignments of individual information handling systems 102 to non-sharedinformation handling resources of system 100. In these and otherembodiments, a chassis management controller may define configurationsof the storage subsystem (e.g., storage controllers 114, storageinterfaces 126, disk drives 130, etc.) of system 100. For example, achassis management controller may provide physical functionconfiguration and status information that would normally occur at thedriver level in traditional server implementations. Examples of physicalfunctions include disk drive discovery and status, RAID configurationand logical volume mapping.

In addition or alternatively, a chassis management controller 112 mayalso provide a management console for user/administrator access to thesefunctions. For example, a chassis management controller 112 mayimplement Intelligent Platform Management Interface (“IPMI”) or anothersuitable management protocol permitting a user to remotely access achassis management controller 112 to configure system 100 and itsvarious information handling resources. In such embodiments, a chassismanagement controller 112 may interface with a network interfaceseparate from network interface 116, thus allowing for “out-of-band”control of 100, such that communications to and from chassis managementcontroller 112 are communicated via a management channel physicallyisolated from an “in band” communication channel with network interface116. Thus, for example, if a failure occurs in system 100 that preventsan administrator from interfacing with system 100 via network interface116 and/or user interface 136 (e.g., operating system failure, powerfailure, etc.), the administrator may still be able to monitor and/ormanage system 100 (e.g., to diagnose problems that may have causedfailure) via a chassis management controller 112. In the same oralternative embodiments, chassis management controller 112 may allow anadministrator to remotely manage one or parameters associated withoperation of system 100 and its various information handling resources(e.g., power usage, processor allocation, memory allocation, securityprivileges, etc.). Although FIG. 1 depicts chassis as having two chassismanagement controllers 112, chassis 101 may include any suitable numberchassis management controllers 112.

A storage controller 114 may and include any system, apparatus, ordevice operable to manage the communication of data between one or moreof information handling systems 102 and one or more of disk drives 130.In certain embodiments, a storage controller 114 may providefunctionality including, without limitation, disk aggregation andredundancy (e.g., RAID), input/output routing, and error detection andrecovery. As shown in FIG. 1, a storage controller 114 may coupled to aconnector on mid-plane 106. Also as shown in FIG. 1, system 100 mayinclude a plurality of storage controllers 114, and in such embodiments,storage controllers 114 may be configured as redundant. In addition orin the alternative, storage controllers 114 may in some embodiments beshared among two or more information handling systems 102. As also shownin FIG. 1, each storage controller 114 may be coupled to one or morestorage interfaces 126 via cables 124. For example, in some embodiments,each storage controller 114 may be coupled to a single associatedstorage interface 126 via a cable 124. In other embodiments, eachstorage controller 114 may be coupled to two or more storage interfaces126 via a plurality of cables 124, thus permitting redundancy as shownin FIG. 1. Storage controllers 114 may also have features supportingshared storage and high availability. For example, in PCIeimplementations, a unique PCIe identifier may be used to indicate sharedstorage capability and compatibility in system 100.

As depicted in FIG. 1, switch 110 may have coupled thereto one or moreslots 120. A slot 120 may include any system, device, or apparatusconfigured to allow addition of one or more expansion cards to chassis101 in order to electrically coupled such expansion cards to a switch110.

Such slots 120 may comprise any suitable combination of full-heightrisers, full-height slots, and low-profile slots. A full-height risermay include any system, device, or apparatus configured to allowaddition of one or more expansion cards (e.g., a full-height slot)having a physical profile or form factor with dimensions thatpractically prevent such expansion cards to be coupled in a particularmanner (e.g., perpendicularly) to mid-plane 106 and/or switch 110 (e.g.,the proximity of information handling resources in chassis 101 preventsphysical placement of an expansion card in such a manner). Accordingly,a full-height riser may itself physically couple with a low-profile tomid-plane 106, a switch 110, or another components, and full-heightcards may then be coupled to full-height slots of a full-height riser.On the other hand, low-profile slots may be configured to couplelow-profile expansion cards to switches 110 without the need for afull-height riser.

Slots 120 may also include electrically conductive elements (e.g., edgeconnectors, traces, etc.) allowing for expansion cards inserted intoslots 120 to be electrically coupled to switches 110. In operation,switches 110 may manage switching of communications between individualinformation handling systems 102 and expansion cards coupled to slots120. In some embodiments, slots 120 may be nonshared (e.g., each slot120 is associated with a single information handling system 102). Inother embodiments, one or more of slots 120 may be shared among two ormore information handling systems 102. In these and other embodiments,one or more slots 120 may be configured to be compatible with PCIe,generalized PC bus switch, Infiniband, or other suitable communicationspecification, standard, or protocol.

Network interface 116 may include any suitable system, apparatus, ordevice operable to serve as an interface between chassis 101 and anexternal network (e.g., a local area network or other network). Networkinterface 116 may enable information handling systems 102 to communicatewith the external network using any suitable transmission protocol(e.g., TCP/IP) and/or standard (e.g., IEEE 802.11, Wi-Fi). In certainembodiments, network interface 116 may include a network interface card(“NIC”). In the same or alternative embodiments, network interface 116may be configured to communicate via wireless transmissions. In the sameor alternative embodiments, network interface 116 may provide physicalaccess to a networking medium and/or provide a low-level addressingsystem (e.g., through the use of Media Access Control addresses). Insome embodiments, network interface 116 may be implemented as a localarea network (“LAN”) on motherboard (“LOM”) interface.

In some embodiments, various components of chassis 101 may be coupled toa planar. For example, a planar may interconnect switches 110, chassismanagement controller 112, storage controllers 114, network interface116, optical media drive 132, KVM interface 134, user interface 136,and/or other modular information handling resources of chassis 101 tomid-plane 106 of system 100. Accordingly, such planar may include slotsand/or connectors configured to interconnect with such informationhandling resources.

Storage interfaces 126 may include any system, device, or apparatusconfigured to facilitate communication between storage controllers 114and disk drives 130. For example, a storage interface may serve topermit a relatively small number of communication links (e.g., two)between storage controllers 114 and storage interfaces 126 tocommunicate with greater number (e.g., 25) disk drives 130. Thus, astorage interface 126 may provide a switching mechanism and/or diskdrive addressing mechanism that allows an individual informationhandling system 102 to communicate with numerous disk drives 130 via alimited number of communication links and/or channels. Accordingly, astorage interface 126 may operate like an Ethernet hub or network switchthat allows multiple systems to be coupled using a single switch port(or relatively few switch ports). A storage interface 126 may beimplemented as an expander (e.g., a Serial Attached SCSI (“SAS”)expander), an Ethernet switch, a FibreChannel switch, Internet SmallComputer System Interface (iSCSI) switch, or any other suitable switch.In order to support high availability storage, system 100 may implementa plurality of redundant storage interfaces 126, as shown in FIG. 1.

Disk drive backplane 128 may comprise any system, device, or apparatusconfigured to interconnect modular storage interfaces 126 with modulardisk drives 130. Accordingly, disk drive backplane 128 may include slotsand/or connectors configured to receive storage interfaces 126 and/ordisk drives 130. In some embodiments, system 100 may include two or morebackplanes, in order to support differently-sized disk drive formfactors. To support redundancy and high availability, a backplane 128may be configured to receive a plurality (e.g., 2) of storage interfaces126 which couple two storage controllers 114 to each disk drive 130.

Each disk drive 130 may include computer-readable media (e.g., magneticstorage media, optical storage media, opto-magnetic storage media,and/or other type of rotating storage media, flash memory, and/or othertype of solid state storage media) and may be generally operable tostore data and/or programs (e.g., one or more operating systems and/orone or more application programs). Although disk drives 130 are depictedas being internal to chassis 101 in FIG. 1, in some embodiments, one ormore disk drives may be located external to chassis 101 (e.g., in one ormore enclosures external to chassis 101).

Optical media drive 132 may be coupled to mid-plane 106 and may includeany suitable system, apparatus, or device configured to read data fromand/or write data to an optical storage medium (e.g., a compact disc,digital versatile disc, blue laser medium, and/or other optical medium).In certain embodiments, optical media drive 132 may use laser light orother electromagnetic energy to read and/or write data to an opticalstorage medium. In some embodiments, optical media drive 132 may benonshared and may be user-configurable such that optical media drive 132is associated with a single information handling system 102.

KVM interface 134 may be coupled to mid-plane 106 and may include anysuitable system, apparatus, or device configured to couple to one ormore of a keyboard, video display, and mouse and act as switch betweenmultiple information handling systems 102 and the keyboard, videodisplay, and/or mouse, thus allowing a user to interface with aplurality of information handling systems 102 via a single keyboard,video display, and/or mouse.

User interface 136 may include any system, apparatus, or device viawhich a user may interact with system 100 and its various informationhandling resources by facilitating input from a user allowing the userto manipulate system 100 and output to a user allowing system 100 toindicate effects of the user's manipulation. For example, user interface136 may include a display suitable for creating graphic images and/oralphanumeric characters recognizable to a user, and may include, forexample, a liquid crystal display, cathode ray tube, a plasma screen,and/or a digital light processor projection monitor. In certainembodiments, such a display may be an integral part of chassis 101 andreceive power from power supplies (not explicitly shown) of chassis 101,rather than being coupled to chassis 101 via a cable. In someembodiments, such display may comprise a touch screen device capable ofreceiving user input, wherein a touch sensor may be mechanically coupledor overlaid upon the display and may comprise any system, apparatus, ordevice suitable for detecting the presence and/or location of a tactiletouch, including, for example, a resistive sensor, capacitive sensor,surface acoustic wave sensor, projected capacitance sensor, infraredsensor, strain gauge sensor, optical imaging sensor, dispersive signaltechnology sensor, and/or acoustic pulse recognition sensor. In theseand other embodiments, user interface 136 may include other userinterface elements (e.g., a keypad, buttons, and/or switches placed inproximity to a display) allowing a user to provide input to system 100.User interface 136 may be coupled to chassis management controllers 112and/or other components of system 100, and thus may allow a user toconfigure various information handling resources of system 100 (e.g.,assign individual information handling systems 102 to particularinformation handling resources).

When a system (e.g., system 100) is architected so as to allowinformation handling information handling resources (e.g., PeripheralComponent Interconnect Express (“PCIe”) adapters coupled to slots 120)to be located in a chassis having shared resources such that theinformation handling resources may be assigned to one informationhandling system or shared among a plurality of information handlingresources, challenges may arise when needing to service an informationhandling resource.

Shared resources or devices, such as PCIe adapters coupled to slots 120,may be virtualized across multiple information handling systems 102.Non-shared resources or devices may be partitioned such that they arevisible only to a single information handling system 102 at time.Chassis management controller 112 may be configured to handle routingand switching through switches 110 to affect sharing or a resource tomultiple information handling systems 102 or to affect dedicatedassignment of a resource to a single information handling system 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates a more detailed block diagram of example system 100configured to provide power management in the modular chassis 101 forPCIe switches and devices in a multi-root input-output virtualization(“IOV”) environment for multiple information handling systems inaccordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

Chassis 101 may include a management processor 248 communicativelycoupled to one or more of chassis management controller 112 and switches110. Management processor 248 may be any system, device, or apparatusconfigured to facilitate management and/or control of switches 110.Management processor 248 may be configured to issue commands and/orother signals to switches 110. Management processor 248 may comprise amicroprocessor, microcontroller, DSP, ASIC, EEPROM, or any combinationthereof. In one embodiment, management processor 248 may run a Linuxoperating system and include application-programming-interfaces (“APIs”)for supporting configuration of IOV in system 100 for sharing devicesconnected to slots of chassis 101 to multiple information handlingsystems 102. The APIs of management processor 248 may provide theinterface to chassis management controller 112 for configuring IOV.Management processor 248 may be configured to manage both switches 110.In one embodiment, management processor 248 may be communicativelycoupled to a Ethernet management fabric 240 and to information handlingsystems 102. In another embodiment, chassis management controller 112may be communicatively coupled to the information handling systems 102through Ethernet management fabric 240. Chassis management controller112 may be directly communicatively coupled to the Ethernet managementfabric 240 or through, for example, management processor 248. In oneembodiment, the hardware or functionality of management processor 248may be incorporated into chassis management controller 112. In such anembodiment, the functionality may be implemented as software in the formof a software service. Chassis 101 may include any suitable number ofmanagement processors 248. In one embodiment, chassis 101 may include amanagement processor implemented in similar fashion to managementprocessor 248 for every switch in chassis 101.

Chassis 101 may include multiple information handling systems 102.Chassis 101 may include any suitable number of information handlingsystems 102. In one embodiment, information handling systems 102 may bereferred to as “blades”.

Each information handling system 102 may include cards 104, as describedin association with FIG. 1. Information handling systems 102 may includea basic input-output system 246 (“BIOS”) which may be implemented, forexample, on firmware for execution by the information handling system.Each information handling system 102 may access BIOS upon, for example,start-up of an information handling system 102 to initializeinteroperation with the rest of chassis 101.

Each information handling system 102 may include a remote accesscontroller 244. Remote access controller 244 may be implemented by, forexample, a microprocessor, microcontroller, DSP, ASIC, EEPROM, or anycombination thereof. Remote access controller 244 may be configured tocommunicate with on or more of chassis management controller 112 andmanagement processor 248. Such communication may be made, for example,through Ethernet management fabric 240. Remote access controller 244 maybe configured to provide out-of-band management facilities formanagement of the information handling system 102. Such management maybe made by elements of chassis 101 even if the information handlingsystem 102 is powered off or powered to a standby state. Remote accesscontroller 244 may include a processor, memory, and network connectionseparate from the rest of the information handling system 102. Remoteaccess controller 244 may be communicatively coupled to BIOS 246.

Switches 110 may contain PCIe cards instead of the typical bladeEthernet, Fibre Channel or InfiniBand cards. Interfaces 104 of theinformation handling systems 102 may attach to switches 110 through thecards of switches 110. Switches 110 may connect information handlingsystems 102 to slots 234. Slots 234 may include one or more of the slots120 of FIG. 1 in any suitable combination.

In one embodiment, each of information handling systems 102 may becommunicatively coupled to each of switches 110 through one ofinterfaces 104 resident on the information handling system 102. Forexample, information handling system 102 a may be communicativelycoupled to switch 110 a through interface 104 a and to switch 110 bthrough interface 104 b. Information handling system 102 b may becommunicatively coupled to switch 110 a through interface 104 c and toswitch 110 b through interface 104 d. Thus, each of switches 110 mayprovide its switching fabric to each of information handling systems 102in order to route the given information handling system 102 torespective slots 234 associated with the switch 110.

Slots 234 may be configured to connect to associated devices 236, thoughfewer devices may be present than the associated capacity of chassis101. Chassis 101 may include any suitable number of slots 234. In oneembodiment, devices 236 may include PCIe-based cards or devices. Eachsuch device 236 may represent an information handling resource to beselectively, for example, shared among multiple information handlingsystem 102 or dedicated to a single information handling system 102.Device 236 may comprise, for example, a RAID controller, network card,or other information handling resource. Furthermore, device 236 mayinclude a specific shared component such as a network interface card(“NIC”) 238. Devices 236 may include management information or circuitryconfigured to provide information to chassis 101 regarding the operationor specification of device 236. For example, device 236 may includeEEPROM 238 containing such information.

In order to support IOV, the driver and firmware of device 236 mayinclude support for single root IOV. To maintain routes between giveninformation handling systems 102 and slots 234, switches 110 may includevirtual hierarchies from slots 234 to information handling systems 102.Particular functions, such as virtual functions or shared functions, forsingle root IOV for a given device 236 may be mapped in switch 110,providing behavior similar to multiple-root IOV. In one embodiment,wherein device 236 contains multiple information handling resources suchas a NIC and USB interface, a function may be provided for each suchinformation handling resource. Thus, from the perspective of informationhandling systems 102 the multiple such information handling resourcesmay appear to be separate and unrelated. A given slot 234 or device 236which has been virtualized may be accessed by two or more virtualfunctions, which allow the sharing of the resource. Physical functions,as opposed to the above-described virtual functions or shared functions,may be mapped or stored in management processor 248. A physical functionrepresenting an information handling resource may be provided to asingle information handling system 102. In cases where a device 236contains multiple information handling resources, individual physicalfunctions may be provided for each such resource. Multiple instances ofa virtual function may be provided to multiple information handlingsystems 102. If, for example, multiple information handling systems 102are sharing a device 236, then access to device 236 may be divided intomultiple virtual NICs using virtual functions, each of which are mappedby switches 110 to the respective information handling system 102.Furthermore, specific APIs for accessing a given device 236 may bemapped or stored in management processor 248. Chassis managementcontroller 112 may be configured to access these physical functions orAPIs in management processor 248.

Because information handling resources, such as those in devices 236coupled to slots 234, are not located within an information handlingsystem 102, but rather in a shared chassis using switches 110 tovirtualize and route input/output communications among selectedinformation handling systems 102, powering of such information handlingresources may not be directly controlled by an associated informationhandling system 102. Consequently, powering of information handlingresources such as devices 236 and information handling systems 102 inchassis 101 may be conducted by chassis management controller 112.

Chassis management controller 112 may be configured to route, switch,control, or otherwise direct other components of chassis 101 to route,switch, or control power to slots 234 for use by devices 236 and toinformation handling systems 102. Power may be routed to informationhandling systems 102 through server power lines 250. Power may be routedto slots 234 through PCIe card power lines 252. In one embodiment, eachinformation handling system 102 may be coupled using a dedicated powerline. In another embodiment, each slot 234 may be coupled using adedicated power line. In yet another embodiment, each informationhandling system 102 may be coupled to power through a power line routedthrough the switch fabrics of chassis 101, such as through switches 110.In still yet another embodiment, each slot 234 may be coupled to powerthrough a power line routed through the switch fabrics of chassis 101,such as through switches 110.

The source of power to which information handling system 102 or slot 234may be coupled may include any power source of chassis 101, such as mainpower 258 and standby power 260. Chassis management controller 112 maybe configured to determine, based upon the operational state ofinformation handling system 102 or slot 234, whether to coupleinformation handling system 102 or slot 234 to main power 258, standbypower 260, or to no power at all.

Chassis 101 may include a PCIe management controller 254 configured tocontrol the configuration and operation of slots 234 and devices 236connected thereto. PCIe management controller 254 may be implemented by,for example, a microprocessor, microcontroller, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, EEPROM,or any combination thereof. PCIe management controller 254 may beconfigured to interface slots 234 and may include circuitry for poweringeach of slots 234 through PCIe card power lines 252. PCIe managementcontroller 254 may be communicatively coupled to chassis managementcontroller 112.

Chassis management controller 112 may be configured to manage anddetermine power usage of components, such as those shown or not shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, of chassis 101. Chassis management controller 112 may beconfigured to determine maximum power capabilities of chassis 101 and,based on the capabilities and demands, selectively provide power to thecomponents of chassis 101. Further, chassis management controller 112may be configured to provide power to devices 236 as needed for use byinformation handling systems 102 because information handling systems102 are unable to directly control the power themselves. Power usageinformation determined by chassis management controller 112 may bestored power usage table 256. Furthermore, information about specifiedpower usage of various components of chassis 101 may be stored in powerusage table 256 for access by chassis management controller 112. Table256 may be implemented by one or more data structures, records, files,database, or other suitable entities.

In operation, when chassis 101 is initially powered on, chassismanagement controller 112 may be powered on and direct the power-upoperations of other components of chassis 101. Chassis managementcontroller 112 may power on PCIe management controller 254. Directly orthrough the use of PCIe management controller 254, chassis managementcontroller 112 may power on each slot 234 to determine whether anydevices 236 are connected thereto. The presence of devices 236 withinslots 234 may be enumerated and stored in power usage table 256. Thus,in one embodiment, chassis management controller 112 may power ondevices 236 before powering on information handling systems 102.

During the enumeration process, chassis management controller 112 maydetermine the power requirements of device 236. The power requirementsof device 236 may be gathered according to the nature of device 236. Ifdevice 236 is configured to be able to be shared using IOV on chassis101, then chassis management controller 112 may determine the powerrequirements by accessing information on device 236 directly. If device236 is not configured to be able to be shared using IOV on chassis 101,then chassis management controller 112 may rely upon interrogation ofdevice 236 by an information handling system 102, looking up defaultvalues in a table such as power usage table 256, or user input.

After enumerating and identifying devices 236, devices 236 may bepowered off. In one embodiment, devices 236 may be kept off until theyare accessed or mapped by chassis 101 for use by an information handlingsystem 102. Upon a later insertion or removal of a device 236, theenumeration may be updated. The power requirements associated withdevice 236 may be updated in power usage table 256.

In addition, chassis management controller 112 may identify the powerrequirements of various components of chassis 101—such as informationhandling systems 102, switches 110, management processor 248, PCIemanagement controller 254, and various elements of FIG. 1—to operatechassis 101 and store the results in power usage table 256. The powerrequired by a component and whether the component is currently using thepower may be stored. The total power available through, for example,main power 258 and standby power 260, may be determined and stored.

From the available power and the power presently required, chassismanagement controller 112 may construct an overall chassis budget inpower usage table 256. As components of chassis 101 are requested,activated, or used, power consumption of the component may be evaluatedagainst the overall chassis budget. Power consumption of the componentmay determined by, for example, reference to power usage table 256. Ifsufficient power exists for the component, use or activation of thecomponent may be allowed and chassis management controller 112 maydeduct the necessary power from the budget. If insufficient power existswithin the budget for the component, and suitable action may be taken.For example, additional power may be activated from main power 258 orstandby power 260, standby power 260 may be used in addition to mainpower, or power may be denied to the component.

During the operation of chassis 101, if a given device 236 is to bemapped to one or more information handling systems 102, the power usageof the device 236 as determined by chassis management controller 112 maybe incorporated into the power budget. If power is available within thebudget for the use of device 236, then device 236 may be powered on.Chassis management controller 112 may manage the power of device 236 forinformation handling systems 102 because, while device 236 may appear toa given information handling system 102 to be internal to the giveninformation handling system 102, the power for device 236 does not comefrom the same power source as used by the given information handlingsystem 102. Furthermore, device 236 may be shared by multipleinformation handling systems 102. As a consequence, a given informationhandling system 102 may not have sufficient information to determineactual power usage of device 236 and would overstate the powerrequirements—by making superfluous power requests for device 236 thathas already been allocated—or understating the power requirements, byindicating power is not needed for device 236 when another informationhandling system 102 is still operating device 236. Further, a giveninformation handling system 102 may not know when power can be turnedoff to device 236. Thus, chassis management controller 112 may managethe power operation of devices 236 for an individual informationhandling system 102 in chassis 101.

If the given device 236 is to be shared among multiple informationhandling systems 102, then the power associated with device 236 may bemarked within the budget as shared power. Subsequently, when a giveninformation handling system 102 is powered on and conducts its own powerinventory, the power inventory from the perspective of the giveninformation handling system 102 may include power needed for operationof device 236. The power inventory of information handling system 102may determine that device 236 is to be used by the given informationhandling system 102 though, for example, initialization conducted byBIOS 246 and RAC 244. The power inventory including device 236 may becreated because the given information handling system 102 may typicallyassume that its resources, such as device 236, are powered by the giveninformation handling system 102 itself. However, within chassis 102, thegiven information handling system 102 may not have responsibility fordirectly powering device 236. Furthermore, the given informationhandling system 102 may be unaware that device 236 is to be shared withother information handling systems 102. Thus, power information from thegiven information handling system 102 with regards to device 236 may beinaccurate. Consequently, chassis management controller 112 may subtractthe power requirements of device 236 from the power request from thegiven information handling system 102.

Similarly, if the given device 236 is not to be shared among multipleinformation handling systems 102, but the power requirements associatedwith device 236 are already known to chassis management controller 112,then the power requirements of the device 236 may be subtracted from theoverall budget received from a given information handling system 102.

In one embodiment, one or more of devices 236 may be configured with thecapability to be shared using IOV in conjunction with chassis 101. Insuch an embodiment, device 236 may include management information onEEPROM 238 regarding model information and/or specifications of device236. Chassis management controller 112 may access EEPROM 258 todetermine power information based on information contained therein.

In another embodiment, one or more of devices 236 may not be configuredwith the capability to be shared using IOV in conjunction with chassis101. For such devices, power inventory of device 236 may be made throughany suitable process, such as determining PCIe slot power limit. Forsuch a device 236, BIOS 246 may query the device 236 for its powerconsumption and forward the information to RAC 244, which may forwardthe information as part of power inventory of a given informationhandling system 102 to chassis management controller 112. If the slotpower limit cannot be determined because, for example, device 236 isunknown, then a default budget such as twenty-five watts may be assumed.An alert may be generated to a user of chassis 101 to set power for thecard. In such a case, wherein chassis management controller 112 may nothave already conducted the power inventory or budget of such a device236, chassis management controller 112 may accept the power requirementsfor device 236 provided by the given information handling system 102.

Further, if the PCIe slot power limit to be determined for device 236 isunavailable, chassis management controller 236 may attempt to determinethe power requirements for device 236. Such a case may arise, forexample, upon boot-up before information handling systems 102 arepowered on. Device 236 may include information on EEPROM 238 regardingmodel information and/or specifications of device 236. Chassismanagement controller 112 may access EEPROM 258 to determine powerinformation based on information contained therein. Chassis managementcontroller 112 may provide a default power requirement when the device226 is unrecognized or unknown.

Default power requirements for a device 236 may be included within powerusage table 256. The default power estimate may be based upon the sizeand type of slot 234.

If device 236 is non-shared, chassis management controller 112 maydetermine the power usage of device 236 through the methods describedabove, such as determining the power usage itself or through a giveninformation handling system 102. If the power to be used by device 236is determined—such as in cases where device 236 is not configured withthe ability to be shared—using BIOS 246 and RAC 244 of the giveninformation handling system 102 to which a non-shared device 236 ismapped, then the power inventory of device 236 may be available whendevice 236 is to be mapped to the given information handling system 102.The given information handling system 102 may pass this information tochassis management controller 112 as part of the power inventory forinformation handling system 102. In such cases, chassis managementcontroller 112 may retain the power inventory of non-shared device 236included within the overall inventory received from the giveninformation handling system 102. In other cases, wherein the powerrequired by device 236 is determined by chassis management controller112 itself, the power inventory of non-shared deice 236 included withinthe overall inventory received from a given information handling system102 may be discarded, and the inventory determined by chassis managementcontroller 112 itself used instead.

Chassis management controller 112 may apply suitable voltage sources tovarious components of chassis 101, such as itself, information handlingsystems 102, and devices 236. In one embodiment, chassis managementcontroller 112 may use standby power 260 to power itself. In anotherembodiment, chassis management controller 112 may use main power 258 topower information handling systems 102. Furthermore, chassis managementcontroller 112 may use main power 258 to power information handlingsystems 102 when information handling systems 102 are in active or instandby mode. Information handling systems 102 may utilize a virtualstandby power rail for use when in standby mode, but the actual powerderived from chassis 101 may be provided by main power 258. In addition,support management circuitry such as RAC 244 may be powered by mainpower 258, rather than standby power 260. The support managementcircuitry such as RAC 244 may be powered by virtual standby powerderived from main power 258.

Chassis management controller 112 may release the allocated power fordevice 236 from the overall power budget if, for example, device 236 isno longer shared or accessed by any information handling systems 102,the information handling systems 102 to which the device 236 is mappedare turned off or removed from chassis 101.

Chassis management controller 112 may ensure that devices 236 are alwayspowered when an associated information handling system 102 is up andrunning in order to ensure proper discovery of devices 236 byinformation handling system 102. If a given information handling system102 is powered from off to standby, chassis management controller 112may power on device 236 before providing the specified power toinformation handling system 102. Such power to device 236 may includestandby power 260, rather than main power 258. As discussed above, eventhough information handling system 102 may perceive that it has beenpowered with standby power, the standby aspect may be virtualized andpower actually provided from main power 258.

If a given information handling system 102 is powered from standby toon, chassis management controller 112 may power on device 236 beforeproviding the specified power to a given information handling system102. Such power to device 236 may include main power 258, with standbypower 260 already activated. The power to the given information handlingsystem 102 may continue to be provided by main power 258.

If a given information handling system 102 is powered from on tostandby, chassis management controller 112 may power down the giveninformation handling system 102 to standby before powering down device236 to standby power. Further, as described above, chassis managementcontroller 112 may determine whether any other information handlingsystems 102 are using device 236 before powering down device 236 tostandby. Such power to device 236 may include powering down device 236from main power 258 to standby power 260. The power to the giveninformation handling system 102 may continue to be from main power 358,but may appear to the given information handling system 102 to be from avirtualized standby power.

If a given information handling system 102 is powered from standby tooff, chassis management controller 112 may power down the giveninformation handling system 102 to off before powering down device 236to off. Further, as described above, chassis management controller 112may determine whether any other information handling systems 102 areusing device 236 before powering down device 236 to off. Such power todevice 236 may include powering down device 236 from standby power 260to off. The power to the given information handling system 102 may bepowered down from virtualized standby power—provided through main power258—to off.

If chassis management controller 112 reboots—in cases such as a firmwareupdate or a failover—chassis management controller 112 may enumerate thecurrent power allocation by evaluating the presence and status of slots234 and any connected devices 236.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart of an example method 300 for powermanagement for PCIe switches and devices in a multi-root input-outputvirtualization blade chassis. According to certain embodiments, method300 may begin at step 305. As noted above, teachings of the presentdisclosure may be implemented in a variety of configurations of system100 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As such, the preferred initializationpoint for method 300 and the order of the steps comprising method 300may depend on the implementation chosen.

Method 300 may begin in response to any suitable stimulus or trigger.For example, method 300 may be invoked in response to powering on ofchassis 101. In another example, method 300 may be invoked after afailover or reboot of chassis management controller 11. In these andother embodiments, method 300 may be implemented as firmware, software,applications, functions, libraries, or other instructions continuallymonitoring chassis 101 for such powering on. In a further embodiment,method 300 may be implemented fully or partially by such instructionswithin chassis management controller 112.

In step 305, a power budget for chassis 101 and associated slots 234 maybe determined. Such a budget may include the power available, such asthrough main power 258 and standby power 260, and the power requirementsof the operation of various components of chassis 101. Furthermore, thecontents and power requirements of slots 234, and any associated devices236, may be determined. Step 305 may be implemented fully or in part bythe steps of method 400 as shown in conjunction with FIG. 4.

In step 310, it may be determined whether a device 236 such as a card isto be mapped to an information handling system 102. Such a mapping maybe conducted using the IOV configuration of chassis 101. If a device 236is not to be mapped to an information handling system 102, then method300 may proceed to step 315. If a device 236 is to be mapped to aninformation handling system 102, then method 300 may proceed to step320.

In step 315, it may be determined whether any power-down or shut-downoperations are to be conducted on components of chassis 101 such asinformation handling systems 102. The shutting down of an informationhandling system 102 may cause the shutting down of associated resourcessuch as devices 236. However, because of the shared nature of devices236 on chassis 101, information handling systems 102 may not handle thepower management of devices 236 themselves. Step 315 may be implementedfully or in part by method 500 as shown in conjunction with FIG. 5.

In step 320, a device 236 such as a card which is to be mapped to aninformation handling system 102 may be powered on to standby power, ifit is not already so powered. The powering on of device 236 may precedethe powering on of the associated information handling system 102. Instep 325, the associated information handling system 102 may be poweredon to virtual standby power.

In step 330, the power requirements needed for the operation ofinformation handling system 102 may be determined by informationhandling 102 using, for example, BIOS 246 and RAC 244. Informationhandling system 102 may report the necessary power requirements for theoperation of information handling system 102. In one embodiment, therequirements may include the power requirements of any devices 236 to beused by information handling system 102. In a further embodiment,information handling system 102 may determine the power requirements ofany devices 236 to be used by, for example, determining a slot powerlimit for the slot 234, querying device 236, or determining a defaultvalue for slot 234.

In step 340, it may be determined whether sufficient power is availableto operate the information handling system 102, taking into account thepower requirements of information handling system 102 in conjunctionwith any devices 236 to be used by information handling system 102. Ifthe devices 236 to be used are shared by other information handlingsystems 102, such duplicative use may be taken into consideration inevaluating the power requirements by, for example, subtracting duplicatepower requirements for shared devices 236 from power requirementsreceived from information handling system 102. Step 340 may beimplemented fully or in part by method 600 in conjunction with FIG. 6.

If sufficient power exists, method 300 may proceed to step 345. Ifsufficient power does not exist, method 300 may proceed to step 350.

In step 345, it may have been determined that insufficient power existsfor the requested operation, and appropriate corrective action may betaken. For example, additional power units may be activated, or lesscrucial components powered down. In one embodiment, the operation ofinformation handling system 102 may be denied or postponed. Method 300may return to step 340 after such corrective action has been taken toreevaluate whether sufficient power exists to conduct the requestedoperation of the associated information handling system 102. In oneembodiment, the request may be denied and method 300 may return to step310 and information handling system 102 powered down.

In step 350, it may have been determined that sufficient power existsfor the requested operation, and use of information handling system 102may be allowed. Such use may include, for example, providing main powerto device 236 for full operation thereof in step 350. In one embodiment,powering on information handling system 102 with main power in step 355subsequent to powering on device 236 in step 350. Method 300 may returnto step 310.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of an example method 400 forinitialization of power management for PCIe switches and devices in amulti-root input-output virtualization blade chassis. According tocertain embodiments, method 400 may begin at step 405. As noted above,teachings of the present disclosure may be implemented in a variety ofconfigurations of system 100 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As such, thepreferred initialization point for method 400 and the order of the stepscomprising method 400 may depend on the implementation chosen. Method400 may implement fully or in part step 305 of method 300.

Method 400 may begin in response to any suitable stimulus or trigger.For example, method 400 may be invoked in response to powering on ofchassis 101. In another example, method 400 may be invoked after afailover or reboot of chassis management controller 11. In yet anotherexample, method 400 may be invoked upon the determination that a device236 has been newly inserted into or newly removed from a slot 234. Inthese and other embodiments, method 400 may be implemented as firmware,software, applications, functions, libraries, or other instructionscontinually monitoring chassis 101 for such powering on. In a furtherembodiment, method 400 may be implemented fully or partially by suchinstructions within chassis management controller 112.

In step 405, slots 234 may be powered on. Slots 234 may be enumerated todetermine whether any devices 236 are attached thereto. In step 410,devices 236 present in a given slot 234 may be identified. The manner inwhich device 236 is identified may depend whether device 236 isconfigured to be able to be shared in chassis 101. In step 415, it maybe determined whether device 236 is to configured to be able to beshared or not. If not, method 400 may proceed to step 425.

If so, in step 420 identifying information may be accessed on device236. Such information may be resident within EEPROM 238. The informationmay include management information enabling the sharing of device 236.Power requirements needed for the operation of device 236 may bedetermined. These power requirements may be denoted in a power budgetfor chassis 101. Furthermore, these power requirements may be marked asshared. Method 400 may proceed to step 425.

In step 425, power requirements for non-shared device 236 may beestimated. Such power requirement estimations may be based on, forexample, a default power requirement based on the nature of slot 234.The estimation performed in step 425 may later be updated with powerrequirements determined by an information handling system 102 which hasbeen mapped to device 236. The power requirements for non-shared device236 may be marked as non-shared within a power budget for chassis 101.

In step 430, the power requirements of other components of chassis 101may be determined and recorded. In step 435, the power requirements ofthe components of the chassis which are actually active may be denotedin the power budget.

In step 440, the slots 234 and associated devices 236 may be powereddown. In step 445, method 400 may terminate.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of an example method 400 for checkingfor and conducting power-down operations as part of power management forPCIe switches and devices in a multi-root input-output virtualizationblade chassis. According to certain embodiments, method 500 may begin atstep 505. As noted above, teachings of the present disclosure may beimplemented in a variety of configurations of system 100 as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2. As such, the preferred initialization point for method500 and the order of the steps comprising method 500 may depend on theimplementation chosen. Method 500 may implement fully or in part step325 of method 300.

Method 500 may begin in response to any suitable stimulus or trigger.For example, method 500 may be invoked in response to an attemptedpowering down of an information handling system 505, or at any suitabletime during method 300 to check for such a powering down. In these andother embodiments, method 500 may be implemented as firmware, software,applications, functions, libraries, or other instructions continuallymonitoring chassis 101 for such powering on. In a further embodiment,method 500 may be implemented fully or partially by such instructionswithin chassis management controller 112.

In step 505, it may be determined whether any given information handlingsystem 102 is to be powered down to standby power. Such a power-downoperation may be caused by, for example, the lack of present need forthe computing capabilities of the given information handling system 102.If no information handling system 102 is to be powered down to standbypower, then method 500 may proceed to step 535. If any informationhandling system 102 is to be powered down to standby power, then steps510-530 may be repeated for each such information handling system 102.

In step 510, the given information handling system 102 may be powereddown to virtual standby power. In step 520, it may be determined whetherany of devices 236 are mapped to the given information handling system102. For each such mapped device 236, it may be determined whether thedevice 236 is presently mapped to any other information handling system102. If any such device 236—mapped to the given information handlingsystem 102—is mapped to any other information handling system 102, thenin step 530 main power may be maintained to the device 236. If, for anysuch device 236, no mapping exist to any other information handlingsystem 102, then in step 525 the device may be powered down to standbypower. Method 500 may proceed to step 535 for such devices. Thus,powering down of devices 236 may be conducted subsequent to poweringdown of associated information handling systems 102.

In step 535, it may be determined whether any given information handlingsystem 102 is to be powered down to off. Such a power-down operation maybe caused by, for example, removal of the given information handlingsystem 102 from chassis 101. If no information handling system 102 is tobe powered down to off, then method 500 may proceed to step 570. If anyinformation handling system 102 is to be powered down to off, then steps550-565 may be repeated for each such information handling system 102.

In step 550, the given information handling system 102 may be powereddown to off. In step S555, it may be determined whether any of devices236 are mapped to the given information handling system 102. For eachsuch mapped device 236, it may be determined whether the device 236 ispresently mapped to any other information handling system 102. If anysuch device 236—mapped to the given information handling system 102—ismapped to any other information handling system 102, then in step 565existing power may be maintained to the device 236. If, for any suchdevice 236, no mapping exist to any other information handling system102, then in step 560 the device may be powered down to off. Method 500may proceed to step 570 for such devices. Thus, powering down of devices236 may be conducted subsequent to powering down of associatedinformation handling systems 102.

In step 570, method 500 may terminate.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of an example method 600 for determiningwhether sufficient power exists for a request from an informationhandling system to operate as part of power management for PCIe switchesand devices in a multi-root input-output virtualization blade chassis.According to certain embodiments, method 600 may begin at step 605. Asnoted above, teachings of the present disclosure may be implemented in avariety of configurations of system 100 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Assuch, the preferred initialization point for method 6500 and the orderof the steps comprising method 600 may depend on the implementationchosen. Method 600 may implement fully or in part step 340 of method300.

Method 600 may begin in response to any suitable stimulus or trigger.For example, method 600 may be invoked in response to receiving arequest for powering on an information handling system. In these andother embodiments, method 600 may be implemented as firmware, software,applications, functions, libraries, or other instructions continuallymonitoring chassis 101 for such powering on. In a further embodiment,method 500 may be implemented fully or partially by such instructionswithin chassis management controller 112.

In step 605, available power in chassis 101 may be determined. In step610, it may be determined, for each device 236 to be mapped to aninformation handling system 102 which generated a power request, whetherthe device 236 is shared or is configured to allow sharing through IOV.Steps 610-650 may be repeated for each such device. If a given device isso shared or configured for allowing sharing, then method 610 mayproceed to step 630. If not, then method 615 may proceed to step 615.

In step 615, it may be determined whether the power requirementsreceived from the information handling system 102 include any budgetedvalues for the operation of the given device 236. The included valuesmay have been determined by, for example, BIOS 246 querying device 236through RAC 244, determining power slot limits, or determining a defaultvalue. If not, then method 600 may proceed to step 620, wherein powerrequirements of the associated device 236 may be determined by accessingEEPROM 238 or looking up default values in a default, and subsequentlyadding the power requirements of the device 236 to the overall powerrequest from information handling system 102. Method 600 may proceed tostep 640.

If the power requirements received from the information handling system102 do include any budgeted values for the operation of the given device236, then in step 625 the budgeted value within the overall budget forchassis 101 may be recorded.

In step 630, wherein the given device 236 may be shared or otherwiseconfigured to allow sharing, the power requirements for device 236 maybe retrieved. The power requirements may have been previouslydetermined, such as illustrated in method 400. In step 635, the powerrequirements for the given device 236 may be deducted from the powerrequirements reported by information handling system 102. Method 600 maythen proceed to step 640.

In step 640, it may be determined whether sufficient power is availablewithin chassis 101 to service the request received from informationhandling system 102. If not, then in step 645 it may be determined thatinsufficient power is available. If so, then in step 650 it may bedetermined that sufficient power is available. In step 655, method 600may terminate.

Although FIGS. 3-6 discloses a particular number of steps to be takenwith respect to methods 300, 400, 500, and 600, methods 300, 400, 500,and 600 may be executed with greater or lesser steps than those depictedin FIGS. 3-6. In addition, although FIGS. 3-6 discloses a certain orderof steps to be taken with respect to methods 300, 400, 500, and 600, thesteps comprising methods 300, 400, 500, and 600 may be completed in anysuitable order.

Methods 300, 400, 500, and 600 may be implemented using system 100,components thereof or any other system such as those shown in FIGS. 1-2operable to implement methods 300, 400, 500, and 600. In certainembodiments, methods 300, 400, 500, and 600 may be implemented partiallyor fully in software and/or firmware embodied in computer-readablemedia.

Although the present disclosure has been described in detail, it shouldbe understood that various changes, substitutions, and alterations canbe made hereto without departing from the spirit and the scope of thedisclosure as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a chassis managementcontroller configured to, upon initialization of a first modularinformation handling system of two or more modular information handlingsystems sharing a shared information handling resource: determine powerrequirements of the shared information handling resource; receive powerrequirements from the first modular information handling system;determine whether the power requirements from the first modularinformation handling system includes power requirements of the sharedinformation handling resource; responsive to a determination that thepower requirements from the first modular information handling systeminclude power requirements of the shared information handling resource,subtract the power requirements of the shared information handlingresource from the power requirements of the first modular informationhandling system to determine resultant power requirements; compare theresultant power requirements with available power; and responsive to theresultant power requirements being less than the available power, allowoperation of the first modular information handling system.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1 further comprising one or more switches configured tovirtualize access of the shared information handling resource to the twoor more modular information handling systems.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the chassis management controller is further configured to poweron the shared information handling resource before powering on the firstmodular information handling system.
 4. The system of claim 1, whereinthe chassis management controller is further configured to: power downthe first modular information handling system; and simultaneously,maintain the power provided to the shared information handling resourceas long as the shared information handling resource is mapped to atleast one modular information handling system.
 5. The system of claim 1,wherein the chassis management controller is further configured to, uponinitialization of a chassis housing the two or more modular informationhandling systems: power on each information handling resource housed inthe chassis; enumerate the information handling resources housed in thechassis; determine the power requirements of each information handlingresource; and incorporate the power requirements of the informationhandling resources into a power budget, the power budget including powerrequirements of the chassis, and wherein comparing the resultant powerrequirements with available power includes comparing the resultant powerrequirements with available power as set forth in the power budget. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the chassis management controller isfurther configured to: further determine whether the power requirementsfrom the first modular information handling system include powerrequirements of a non-shared information handling resource; based on thedetermination that the power requirements from the first modularinformation handling system include power requirements of a non-sharedinformation handling resource, determine whether the non-sharedinformation handling resource is configured to be capable of beingshared; and responsive to a determination that the non-sharedinformation handling resource is configured to be capable of beingshared, subtract the power requirements of the non-shared informationhandling resource configured to be capable of being shared from thepower requirements of the first modular information handling system todetermine resultant power requirements.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein the chassis management controller is further configured to:further determine whether the power requirements from the first modularinformation handling system include power requirements of a non-sharedinformation handling resource; based on the determination that the powerrequirements from the first modular information handling system includepower requirements of a non-shared information handling resource,determine whether the non-shared information handling resource isconfigured to be capable of being shared; and responsive to adetermination that the non-shared information handling resource is notconfigured to be capable of being shared, accept the power requirementsof the first modular information handling system to determine resultantpower requirements.
 8. A method comprising: upon initialization of afirst modular information handling system two or more modularinformation handling systems sharing a shared information handlingresource: determining power requirements of the shared informationhandling resource; receiving power requirements from the first modularinformation handling system; determining whether the power requirementsfrom the first modular information handling system includes powerrequirements of the shared information handling resource; responsive toa determination that the power requirements from the first modularinformation handling system includes power requirements of the sharedinformation handling resource, subtracting the power requirements of theshared information handling resource from the power requirements of thefirst modular information handling system to determine resultant powerrequirements; comparing the resultant power requirements with availablepower; and responsive to the resultant power requirements being lessthan the available power, allowing operation of the first modularinformation handling system.
 9. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising using one or more switches to virtualizing access of theshared information handling resource to the two or more modularinformation handling systems.
 10. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising powering on the shared information handling resource beforepowering on the first modular information handling system.
 11. Themethod of claim 8, further comprising: powering down the first modularinformation handling system; and simultaneously, maintaining the powerprovided to the shared information handling resource as long as theshared information handling resource is mapped to at least one modularinformation handling system.
 12. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising, upon initialization of a chassis housing the two or moremodular information handling systems: powering on each informationhandling resource housed in the chassis; enumerating the informationhandling resources housed in the chassis; determining the powerrequirements of each information handling resource; and incorporatingthe power requirements of the information handling resources into apower budget, the power budget including power requirements of thechassis, and wherein comparing the resultant power requirements withavailable power includes comparing the resultant power requirements withavailable power as set forth in the power budget.
 13. The method ofclaim 8, further comprising: further determining whether the powerrequirements from the first modular information handling system includepower requirements of a non-shared information handling resource; basedon the determination that the power requirements from the first modularinformation handling system include power requirements of a non-sharedinformation handling resource, determining whether the non-sharedinformation handling resource is configured to be capable of beingshared; and responsive to a determination that the non-sharedinformation handling resource is configured to be capable of beingshared, subtracting the power requirements of the non-shared informationhandling resource configured to be capable of being shared from thepower requirements of the first modular information handling system todetermine resultant power requirements.
 14. The method of claim 8,further comprising: further determining whether the power requirementsfrom the first modular information handling system include powerrequirements of a non-shared information handling resource; based on thedetermination that the power requirements from the first modularinformation handling system include power requirements of a non-sharedinformation handling resource, determining whether the non-sharedinformation handling resource is configured to be capable of beingshared; and responsive to a determination that the non-sharedinformation handling resource is not configured to be capable of beingshared, accepting the power requirements of the first modularinformation handling system to determine resultant power requirements.15. An article of manufacture comprising: a non-transitory computerreadable medium; and computer-executable instructions carried on thecomputer readable medium, the instructions readable by a processor, theinstructions, when read and executed, for causing the processor to: uponinitialization of a first modular information handling system of two ormore modular information handling systems sharing the shared informationhandling resource: determine power requirements of the sharedinformation handling resource; receive power requirements from the firstmodular information handling system; determine whether the powerrequirements from the first modular information handling system includepower requirements of the shared information handling resource;responsive to a determination that the power requirements from the firstmodular information handling system includes power requirements of theshared information handling resource, subtract the power requirements ofthe shared information handling resource from the power requirements ofthe first modular information handling system to determine resultantpower requirements; compare the resultant power requirements withavailable power; and responsive to the resultant power requirementsbeing less than the available power, allow operation of the firstmodular information handling system.
 16. The article of claim 15, theinstructions for further causing the processor to, using one or moreswitches, virtualize access of the shared information handling resourceto the two or more modular information handling systems.
 17. The articleof claim 15, the instructions for further causing the processor to poweron the shared information handling resource before powering on the firstmodular information handling system.
 18. The article of claim 15, theinstructions for further causing the processor to: power down the firstmodular information handling system; and simultaneously, maintain thepower provided to the shared information handling resource as long asthe shared information handling resource is mapped to at least onemodular information handling system.
 19. The article of claim 15, theinstructions for further causing the processor to, upon initializationof a chassis housing the two or more modular information handlingsystems: power on each information handling resource housed in thechassis; enumerate the information handling resources housed in thechassis; determine the power requirements of each information handlingresource; and incorporate the power requirements of the informationhandling resources into a power budget, the power budget including powerrequirements of the chassis, and wherein comparing the resultant powerrequirements with available power includes comparing the resultant powerrequirements with available power as set forth in the power budget. 20.The article of claim 15, the instructions for further causing theprocessor to: further determine whether the power requirements from thefirst modular information handling system include power requirements ofa non-shared information handling resource; based on the determinationthat the power requirements from the first modular information handlingsystem include power requirements of a non-shared information handlingresource, determine whether the non-shared information handling resourceis configured to be capable of being shared; and responsive to adetermination that the non-shared information handling resource isconfigured to be capable of being shared, subtract the powerrequirements of the non-shared information handling resource configuredto be capable of being shared from the power requirements of the firstmodular information handling system to determine resultant powerrequirements.
 21. The article of claim 15, the instructions for furthercausing the processor to: further determine whether the powerrequirements from the first modular information handling system includepower requirements of a non-shared information handling resource; basedon the determination that the power requirements from the first modularinformation handling system include power requirements of a non-sharedinformation handling resource, determine whether the non-sharedinformation handling resource is configured to be capable of beingshared; and responsive to a determination that the non-sharedinformation handling resource is not configured to be capable of beingshared, accept the power requirements of the first modular informationhandling system to determine resultant power requirements.